[Wall Street Liquidity Radar] Despite the surge in institutional trading, confidence in buying Bitcoin is limited... US prices still at a discount

U.S. institutional bitcoin trading activity rose, but the Coinbase Premium—the gap between U.S. and offshore prices—stayed negative, signaling that American buyers are still paying less than overseas traders rather than bidding up the asset. The premium moved from -0.094% on Nov. 4 to -0.1563% on Nov. 5, then -0.1489% on Nov. 6, -0.1498% on Nov. 7 and -0.1301% on Nov. 8, before sitting at -0.0839% as of 1:40 p.m. on Nov. 9. The discount narrowed on Nov. 8 versus the prior day but never turned positive, indicating that greater institutional participation has not translated into conviction-driven U.S. buying. A positive reading would mean U.S. investors are paying a premium to offshore buyers, while a negative one means bitcoin trades cheaper domestically. The key signal to watch is whether the Coinbase Premium can sustain a move above zero, which would confirm that rising institutional flows are converting into genuine U.S. demand rather than passive trading volume.